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best first time linux distro for windows user

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Target:
Just my $.02   :Thmbsup:-MilesAhead (April 06, 2023, 05:41 PM)
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thanks MilesAhead!  good to get some user feedback, but you probably don't fit the intended demographic (you're more than a user!)  Mint is shaping up as a probable contender, though as a non linux user myself its hard to know what the potential pitfalls are (updates are inevitable but the mechanism isn't familiar so...)

MilesAhead:
Just my $.02   :Thmbsup:-MilesAhead (April 06, 2023, 05:41 PM)
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thanks MilesAhead!  good to get some user feedback, but you probably don't fit the intended demographic (you're more than a user!)  Mint is shaping up as a probable contender, though as a non linux user myself its hard to know what the potential pitfalls are (updates are inevitable but the mechanism isn't familiar so...)

-Target (April 10, 2023, 05:38 PM)
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I used Mint for a bit several years ago.  I just checked my memory online and apparently it still uses APT package manager.  If you are new in an environment it saves lots of frustration and confusion if new packages work as expected when installed.  APT based systems seem to have that in common.  One thing I did find disorienting about Linux was it worked.  When on Windows I could always count on something needing tweaking to fill my time.  On Linux distros I would get set up then think "now what?  There's nothing to fix."   ;D

Target:
There's nothing to fix."   ;D-MilesAhead (April 12, 2023, 08:49 AM)
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 ;D ;D ;D :huh:

sphere:
I have been meaning to check into some of the new to me distros as I landed on Linux Mint at least 5 to 10 years  ago when doing something similar to what you are doing here.  You can create a live cd /usb drive and boot it up and see if any drivers are missing, then you can commit and install it to the system's hard drive. It installs with some things you might not think are important by default, like a media player and browser.  It has a listing of softer that you can install broken down by categories.  If someone has used an app store, they can likely figure it out.  I have very little complaints with people not being able to figure out how to use it- but this was quite some time ago.   Like has been said, it has a similar feel as window 7. 

If people are going to be gaming- I think there are distros with vetter video graphic support. It used to be that wine was the only game in town to install windows applications on a linux machine, but I have heard there are more out there that allow one to install windows applications.  It does not seem like that is an issue in this case.

If these pcs are going to be used as "common" at a shelter, I wonder if there are any purpose built linux kiosk version that might be more stable in the long run

I think the big thing is, that Mint got user friendly/similar to windows right "first" and because of that it has a bit of a leg up compared to other distros.  Other distros might be better.   What is nice is most distros allow you to boot from cd/usb thumb drive to try it out. I would like you to try a bunch of distros and then report back :D

Shades:
If playing games is the purpose, Pop!_OS seems to be very capable of playing Windows games (via Steam/Proton). That aspect of Pop!_OS I have not tried, but I read on multiple forums that it is one of the better distro's to play games on.

My old clunker of a laptop works fine with Pop!_OS. As sphere already said: Most, if not all, Linux distros give you the option to run it from a pendrive first, to get a feel for that distro and if you like it, you can commit to it. Tried Ubuntu Studio on that laptop, as well as Mint, ElementaryOS, OpenSUSE and the last one was Pop!_OS. It just stood out to me more than the others, so I kept it. As said in a previous post, all the hardware in that laptop worked without having to do anything after installation from Pop!_OS. The amount of times a Windows installation went as smooth as installing Pop!_OS, I can count on one hand.

On Linux distros I would get set up then think "now what?  There's nothing to fix."   ;D
-MilesAhead (April 12, 2023, 08:49 AM)
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Now I would not go that far. While the base system works just fine, by trying out different distros I found that some small/minor things from one distro would appeal to me, I went out and looked for scripts etc. to mimic those small/minor things in Pop!_OS. It took digging and applying scripts in order, but did manage to do so. After that, I did not have a real need to fix anything else. So your sentiment is understood, and mostly true. Just not always.  :D

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